It has long had problems getting appropriations bills done before the fiscal year begins, a problem that predated the Budget Act in 1974. In those ancient times, the fiscal year ran from July 1 to June 30, leaving Congress just six months to get the 13 appropriations bills through both chambers and signed into law. And the continuing resolutions often mean that agencies get a late infusion of cash, which they spend in a frenzied fashion so as not to end the year with anything left over that might cause their appropriations to decline the next year. Moreover, the difficulty getting individual appropriations through every stage of the process has made it more difficult for the House and Senate Appropriations committees to devote the time, attention and energy necessary to do the quality oversight for which they were once known. Because the core problems with this process are so intertwined with basic conflict over priorities and policy, I have been skeptical in the past that any major budget process reform would work any better than the change in the fiscal year. All his years there convinced him that fighting these wars over budget resolutions and a series of appropriations bills every single year and all year long was both destructive and stupid, that a two-year budget would bring a slightly longer view on national priorities, and that two-year appropriations would allow some time in off years for oversight. read more

Filed in: Advantage Of Cash In Advance